Zi Ning stood in front of the mirror, adjusting her blazer.
Her sharp gaze reflected back at her.
The attacks had started.
They wanted to crush her reputation.
But she wouldn't let them.
The press conference was scheduled for the afternoon. The moment the scandal broke, reporters swarmed outside Starlight Entertainment like vultures, hungry for drama.
Xiao Mei rushed into the dressing room, her face pale.
"Sister Ning, the media is going crazy! They're saying you bribed directors, seduced executives, and even had an affair with a married producer!"
Zi Ning smirked. "They're getting creative."
Xiao Mei's hands shook. "What should we do? If we don't handle this properly, your career—"
"I won't let them destroy me," Zi Ning interrupted coldly.
She grabbed her phone and dialed a number.
Lu Yichen answered immediately.
"I arranged everything," he said before she could speak. "Your evidence will be sent to the press in the middle of the conference."
Zi Ning's lips curled into a smile. "Good."
With or without his help, she would fight back.
But with him by her side, she would make sure they regretted ever touching her.
At the same time, in a luxurious hotel suite, Zhao Feng, Huo Lian, and a mysterious man sat around a table.
Huo Lian scrolled through her phone, a sneer on her lips. "Zi Ning must be panicking right now."
Zhao Feng laughed. "She won't be able to escape this time."
The man sitting across from them, dressed in a sleek black suit, smirked.
"We're only getting started," he said.
Huo Lian frowned. "Who exactly are you? Why are you helping us?"
The man's fingers tapped the table rhythmically.
"Let's just say I have unfinished business with Zi Ning."
Huo Lian and Zhao Feng exchanged glances.
They didn't trust him.
But right now, they had the same goal—destroy Zi Ning.
And that was all that mattered.
The room was packed.
Cameras flashed. Reporters whispered. The tension in the air was thick.
Zi Ning sat at the center of the long table, calm and composed.
Beside her, Starlight Entertainment's CEO, Lin Qiang, looked tense.
The moment she picked up the microphone, reporters rushed in with questions.
"Miss Zi, is it true you slept with directors to get roles?"
"Do you admit to having an affair with Producer Wang?"
"Are you resigning from the industry?"
Zi Ning's fingers tapped the table.
She didn't answer.
She let them shout. Let them talk.
Then, when the noise reached its peak—
She smiled.
And spoke.
"I have only one thing to say," she said clearly.
She raised her hand.
A staff member handed her a folder.
She opened it and slid a stack of papers onto the table.
"This," she said, "is proof that the rumors are fake."
Silence fell.
The reporters stared at the documents.
Some started flipping through the pages, their eyes widening.
Bank records. Contracts. Voice recordings.
The people who accused her had never met her.
The supposed "transactions" were photoshopped.
The so-called affair? A lie, created by an anonymous source.
A murmur spread through the room.
One reporter hesitated. "Miss Zi, do you know who is behind this?"
Zi Ning's lips curled.
She leaned forward.
"I do," she said.
A hush fell over the room.
The reporters held their breath, waiting for the bomb to drop.
Then—
The doors burst open.
A man in a black suit strode in.
Zi Ning's eyes turned sharp.
It was Shen Ming.
And he was her past.
The room filled with gasps as Shen Ming, a well-known businessman, walked straight to the front.
He took the microphone from the table and smiled at Zi Ning.
"Long time no see," he said smoothly.
Zi Ning's fists tightened.
She hadn't seen this man in years.
But he was someone she would never forget.
Shen Ming. The man who tried to ruin her life once before.
He turned to the reporters.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I have something to say," he said.
Zi Ning's eyes darkened.
"What are you playing at, Shen Ming?" she asked coldly.
Shen Ming chuckled. "Nothing. I just wanted to remind everyone who you really are."
The screens behind them flickered.
A video began playing.
It was old footage.
A young Zi Ning, only eighteen years old, standing in a club.
The quality was grainy, but the implication was clear.
Shen Ming smirked.
"You remember this night, don't you?" he asked softly.
Zi Ning's heart turned cold.
Of course, she remembered.
It was the night she had been set up.
The footage showed Zi Ning in the club, a drink in her hand.
Then—
The screen glitched.
The next scene showed her leaning against a man's shoulder.
The angle made it look bad.
The reporters exploded.
"Miss Zi, is this proof of your past connections?"
"Were you involved with Shen Ming before?"
Zi Ning's expression didn't change.
She took the microphone.
"This video is real," she admitted.
A shocked silence fell.
"But let me tell you the full story."
She turned her gaze to the cameras.
"That night, I was drugged."
Gasps.
Shen Ming's smirk faltered.
"I was lured to that club by a friend," she continued. "I didn't know I was walking into a trap."
She picked up a USB drive from the table.
"And I have proof."
A staff member plugged it into the big screen.
A new video played.
Security footage from that night.
It showed Shen Ming himself slipping something into her drink.
The entire room froze.
Reporters turned to Shen Ming in shock.
"You—!"
Shen Ming's face turned pale.
Zi Ning smirked.
Checkmate.
She turned back to the cameras.
"I have nothing to hide," she said.
"But some people? They should start explaining themselves."
The headlines changed instantly.
#ShenMingDruggedZiNing
#JusticeForZiNing
#WhoSetUpZiNing?
The entire scandal flipped.
The real villain was exposed.
Shen Ming tried to escape, but reporters swarmed him.
Zhao Feng and Huo Lian, watching from their hotel suite, turned pale.
Their plan had backfired.
Zi Ning had won.
That night, Zi Ning sat in her apartment, sipping tea.
Her phone rang.
Lu Yichen's deep voice came through.
"Congratulations," he said.
Zi Ning smirked. "This is just the beginning."
A pause.
Then—
"There's still someone else pulling the strings," Lu Yichen said.
Zi Ning's smile faded.
She knew.
This wasn't over.
Her real enemy was still hiding in the shadows.
And she was going to find them.
No matter what it took.